Several Rockwood businesses say if Highway 7 is not kept open during a proposed rehabilitation project, they will be forced to close their doors forever.
“If the road’s closed, they’re leaving,” Guelph-Eramosa councillor Doug Breen said last week. “I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping that road open.”
Keeping at least one lane open to traffic is the top concern for residents and businesses, Breen told Ministry of Transportation (MTO) senior project manager Robert Bakalarczyk and engineer Kevin?Welker, of Dillon?Consulting.
Bakalarczyk and Welker said they did look into the township’s idea of boring a replacement culvert at Richardson’s Creek – instead of excavating and placing it directly in the ground – to keep one lane open during the project, which is expected to commence next spring and wrap up by fall 2012.
However, Welker said the poor soil conditions in the area, as well as adjacent wetlands and the utilities located in a nearby embankment likely preclude boring. He explained a precast box culvert could be used to speed up construction and shorten the road closure.
But that did sit well with Breen, who implored the MTO officials to, “Move heaven and earth to keep that road open.”
Welker said even boring would require closing the road for a week during staging, but Breen replied there is a huge difference between seven days and three weeks.
MTO’s preferred option for replacing the culvert is closing the highway for two to three weeks, with traffic detoured along Halton Regional Road 32 to County Road 44 and then back to Highway 7, west of the village.
Mayor Chris White agreed and said if boring is not possible, the township would like the road closure to be scheduled at the best possible time for local businesses.
Bakalarczyk then explained a speed study conducted at three locations in?Rockwood on June 29 and July 13 showed there is some speeding, but most motorists are generally in compliance with posted speed limits.
Another major area of concern identified at a June 22 public meeting was a safe way to cross Highway 7.
Bakalarczyk said pedestrian traffic counts in June at the Ridge Road and Dunbar-MacLennan Streets intersections did not warrant a traffic light or a crosswalk across Highway 7.
Breen told Bakalarczyk if that’s the case, there’s something wrong with the warrants set by the ministry.
“It’s not fine and we all know it’s not fine,” Breen said.
White said there needs to be more discussion on sidewalk work and whether a crossing, retaining wall or traffic lights will help pedestrians to safely walk along both sides of Highway 7.
White said the township will likely host another public meeting in the fall to keep residents informed, and he hoped the MTO would be part of that presentation.
